Hurricane Irma death toll in Orange County confirmed at 5

Five people have lost their lives in confirmed Hurricane Irma-related incidents, the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office reported Thursday morning.

Three of those victims, Jan Louis Lebron Diaz, Kiara Lebron Diaz, and Desiree Diaz Molina, died from carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday when fumes from a portable generator overcame them in their house, Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany reported.

One woman, Heidi Zehner-Daly, died of a blunt-force trauma in an unwitnessed, one-vehicle automobile accident attributed to the storm.

One man, Brian Buwalda, died of electrocution after coming in contact with a downed power line.

About The Author

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at scott@floridapolitics.com.